Wrong woman buried following Calif. mortuary mix-up

A mix-up at Simpson Family Mortuary in Inglewood, Calif. caused the family of Darlene Davidson to bury the wrong body. When family alerted the mortuary their relative looked different in her casket, they told them it was because she was embalmed.

BY VICTORIA TAYLOR NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Tuesday, March 12, 2013, 3:19 PM

The body of Darlene Davidson was not in her casket during what was supposed to be her viewing after a mortuary mix-up. Her family found out days later that they had buried the wrong person.

The body of Darlene Davidson was not in her casket during what was supposed to be her viewing after a mortuary mix-up. Her family found out days later that they had buried the wrong person.

Loved ones of a California woman need to go through the painful burial process again after a mortuary’s grave mistake.

Mourning family and friends of 82-year-old Darlene Davidson, who thought they had attended her funeral and burial on March 1, were in for a surprise when they found out they had said their goodbyes to the wrong woman.

Officials at Simpson Family Mortuary in Inglewood, Calif. admitted to mistakenly switching the bodies of two women, something they didn’t realize until after they had already buried one of the women.

Evans Davidson told NBCLA that he knew the woman in the casket wasn’t his wife of 51 years. However, officials at the mortuary told him that Darlene looked different because of the embalming process.

When members of Davidson’s family questioned why she looked so different, mortuary officials told them that it was because she was embalmed.

When members of Davidson’s family questioned why she looked so different, mortuary officials told them that it was because she was embalmed.

“I was pretty certain it wasn’t my wife – unless she did some awful changing,” he said in an interview with NBCLA.

He got a call a couple of days later informing him that his wife’s body might still be at the mortuary. It turns out another family had also complained that the right body was not in their casket.

Simpson’s Family Mortuary did not return the Daily News’ request for comment, but a spokesman apologized for the mix-up and told NBCLA that it was a case of human error.

“We have standards and also we have systems in place to try to insure as much as we can that these types of things don’t happen,” spokesman Reginald Black said. “We’re human beings. And can we make a mistake? Of course we can.”

The mortuary has offered to exhume the body and cover the expenses for both families to hold proper burial services. The family of the second woman has not been publicly identified.

The California Cemetery and Funeral Bureau is investigating the incident. Davidson will be buried on Wednesday, according to CBSLA.

A spokesman for Simpson Family Mortuary apologized for the mistake. The mortuary has offered to exhume the body and pay the funeral expenses for both families.

A spokesman for Simpson Family Mortuary apologized for the mistake. The mortuary has offered to exhume the body and pay the funeral expenses for both families.